Women in rural Canada have twice the risk of some life-threatening complications when they give birth, compared to urban women, a new study suggests.

The researchers found that rural mothers were twice as likely to have potentially life-threatening conditions such as eclampsia (serious seizures in women during pregnancy or childbirth), obstetric shock and rupture or tearing of the uterus, or breakdown of a uterine scar, compared with their urban counterparts.

The study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal by the University of Ottawa and University of British Columbia looked at a quarter of a million births in B.C. over five years. It says the findings apply to other provinces as well.

The authors blame, in part, the closing of maternity units in many rural communities. They say the higher rural risk of eclampsia suggests a “lack of appropriate clinical management or timely access to advanced obstetric care.”

Among the findings:

• Mothers in rural areas were younger when they gave birth, more often smoked or consumed drugs or alcohol during pregnancy, had more previous children before this study, and had fewer prenatal visits. They were more likely to have high blood pressure and to have a midwife involved in prenatal care.

• Babies born in rural areas were more often premature and more often had low Apgar scores — an overall measure of wellness at birth.

• “In the wake of maternity unit closures in rural areas, the emphasis should remain on monitoring for potentially life-threatening maternal and perinatal complications requiring advanced obstetric and neonatal care,” the authors write.

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